Myth: The Ruler of Spirituality

“Mentor, what is this place?”

In the monochrome world, two figures of varying sizes walked on the ‘sea’ surface. Unlike the surrounding environment, they were the only beings with ‘color’ nearby.

“I feel there is a kind of power here that is very beneficial to the spirit. It exists in the present world too, but it is extremely rare.”

Facing the mentor he had acknowledged not long before, Chiron tried to bow down to align himself with his mentor’s height.

But it was pointless. As a half-human, half-horse being, the red-haired witch was only as tall as the horse part of him.

“This is the Spirit Realm, the first layer of the Spirit Realm, the Phantasmal Spirit Realm.”

“It is a counterpart of the surface world—you should be able to tell. Other than the difference in color, there is not much difference from the outside world. Even if you destroy the environment here, it will gradually restore itself over time.”

Casually shattering a giant rock on a distant island, under the gaze of the centaur beside her, without any apparent force, the rock pieces soon began to rebuild themselves.

“You need not concern yourself with this place, after all, you also have divinity. The first two layers of the Spirit Realm are of limited significance to you.”

“Next time you enter, there’s no need to come in person. I myself mostly entered in the form of a spiritual body.”

Answering offhandedly, she strolled across the monochrome ‘sea surface,’ with Hecate seeming to search for something. Just like she said, in the past, she more often entered the Spirit Realm in spirit, not bodily.

The Phantasmal Spirit Realm was somewhat quiet today, the spiritual bodies that were often seen were nowhere to be found. Hecate didn’t find this strange—after all, such turmoil had just erupted over the East Sea, and even though lower spiritual bodies mostly act on instinct, they knew to seek advantage and avoid harm.

Of course, there was another possibility: because the portal to the Spirit Realm had opened, letting some of the Sun’s power seep in, burning them all away.

“Found it.”

After searching for half an hour, Hecate seemed to have discovered something. She casually grabbed the mane on Chiron’s back, and in a blink, they appeared at the very edge of their vision.

There, in midair, a ring of light floated from nowhere, with slight ripples of space around it. At its center, a much richer aura of Spirituality emanated from within.

“Mentor, what is this?”

Asking again, the centaur felt he indeed was a bit ignorant before.

“This is a passageway connecting the first and second layers of the Spirit Realm. They are everywhere in the first layer. Cross it, and you can enter the second layer of the Spirit Realm.”

The corners of her mouth lifted, as if she thought of something amusing. Hecate, looking at her unwitting apprentice who had been caught spying and then thoroughly beaten, smiled with ill intent:

“Little Chiron, with your divinity, you should be able to directly sense the second layer of the Spirit Realm. In fact, you don’t need to go the normal route, and you can enter it. Do you want to give it a try?”

“No need.”

The response was very decisive. Although they had only known each other for half a day, the young centaur had come to understand some of his mentor’s character.

Dying was probably not on the cards. But if he really dared to try, the outcome probably wouldn’t be very pleasant.

“Is that so? What a shame.”

Seeing his refusal, Hecate felt slightly regretful, but she still explained earnestly;

“Actually, if you were a pure Spirit Realm life form, this kind of direct breakthrough wouldn’t pose any problem. For them, it is a form of ‘advancement,’ a natural act when their own power reaches a certain point, and at most when entering the next layer of the Spirit Realm, the location where they appear might be a bit random, unlike this fixed portal.”

“However, for Outsiders, if they don’t follow the rules, they will likely be refused entry and then punished differently according to their strength.”

Hecate’s explanation couldn’t help but prompt an ‘as expected’ expression on the centaur’s face; he knew there would be problems not following the rules. He prepared to inquire about this so-called ‘punishment,’ but the next moment, Chiron found that his mentor’s face showed a look of surprise.

“Haha, I knew it. There are always fools—I mean, individuals not as cautious as you who just barge in directly!”

“Come, follow me to have a look. It seems to be in the west!”

Without waiting for a response, she grabbed the centaur’s back hair and Hecate took another step forward. This time, however, Chiron clearly perceived that unlike the short-distance spatial shift before, he had directly broken through two barriers.

In his perception, one of those barriers was the second layer of the Spirit Realm, which they had just been warned not to enter by force.

After breaking through the two barriers, a fleeting and bizarre scene flashed by; it seemed as if they had only walked a few steps there before they were back in the first layer of the Spirit Realm the next moment.

Spiritual Realm Shuttle, with the help of the chaotic spacetime characteristics of the higher Spirit Realm, the two of them arrived in the Eastern Region of the continent in a short time.

In this place, several beings emanating waves of Divine Power were clashing with unknown life forms, but the power they displayed was far less formidable than in the real world.

“Dammit, what the hell is this place?”

Under the oppressive force of the dimensional barrier, only a fraction of his Divine Power remained. Zeus brandished the Arrow of Thunder in his hand, and a silver light exploded out of nowhere, shooting towards the entity in front of him.

Yet, the being that looked no different from a Deity only let out a cold laugh and effortlessly deflected the Thunderbolt, which was supposed to be unblockable, with a golden shield.

It wasn’t that the power of the Divine Artifact was lacking, but rather the suppression here was too terrifying. Zeus could feel that his previous arbitrary actions had incensed the world itself, as though the entire world was pressing down on him, and he even caught a glimpse of the phantom of a Bronze Book.

That phantom seemed like the core of Order, vastly intensifying the suppression of the interface’s power, rendering him utterly powerless before this unknown life form.

“Zeus, who gave you permission to act recklessly? How are we to return now?”

With a similarly grim expression, Poseidon loudly questioned Zeus.

Although he too had sensed several layers of the world and wanted to directly see inside, he had not yet made a move.

It was Zeus who tried to step into the third layer of the world and had taken action, only to end up in the territory of this unknown life form.

Although this life form looked like a Deity and possessed power similar to Divine Power and Wisdom, Poseidon was certain, he was not a Deity.

If his power weren’t so immense, he would have thought it was one of the so-called ‘Humans’ who once worshipped the Deities, as spoken about among the gods.

“Enough, stop arguing.”

By the side, Hestia, the goddess of fire and the hearth, intervened to stop the argument between the two brothers. She was aware that both were somewhat dissatisfied with the previous distribution of power.

They were in the middle of a battle now, and arguing directly was out of the question. It seemed that power was truly alluring, for it made Poseidon appear like a Deity capable of contemplation.

“Respected… Sir, we did not mean to offend you.”

Flames of red ignited, and within their domain all forces with hostile intentions were diminished. Hestia looked at the being in front of them, attempting to negotiate a resolution.

“We merely discovered the ability to enter here by accident, and entered your territory inadvertently. If this has caused you any displeasure, we are willing to—”

“I know you had no intention.”

Ethereal tones sounded, interrupting Hestia’s words.

Unlike the language used among gods, the language of this foreign life form was unknown, but amazingly, it was ‘understood’ directly by the several Deities listening.

“But I do!”

The voice was detached as Aaron’s form shone with light, transforming into thousands of radiant arrows that collided with the four Deities opposite him.

“Deities are not such good things after all.”

He did not know what he was  a Spirit Realm being, part of the Golden Humanity, or a new life form that, in the process of mutual devouring, inherited the memories of both. Nevertheless, from the moment the new consciousness emerged, Aaron felt disgusted thinking about how ‘he’ once worshipped the Deities.

Now, with the great Ancient Spirit World above, he was determined to properly discipline these unfamiliar Deities